Brussels, 07/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Issues change over time, but the search for solutions inevitably requires Franco-German leadership in the interest of European unity.
On Wednesday 7 October, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, François Hollande, restated the importance of pursuing the political integration of the European continent, respecting the founding values of the Union, to deal with the multiple crises that are shaking Europe, at home or on its doorstep. They were speaking in the hemicycle building of the European Parliament in the presence of the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, 26 years after their predecessors and mentors - Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand - undertook a similar initiative at the beginning of a different turning point in the European construction process, that of the reunification of Germany and the creation of economic and monetary union (EMU).
We must not be tempted to act at nation state level. We need more Europe. Germany and France are prepared. Closing in at the time of the internet is a pipedream, and if we don't respect that, we will imprison ourselves, said Merkel.
Fears manifest each time there is a crisis but we have to put up with that and not let fear overcome us or give way to the temptation of turning in on ourselves. Nothing is more mistaken than trying to only save oneself. The crises justify a Europe on the offensive, able to protect citizens and keep its rank in line with its values. There is no other solution than ensuring a strong Europe, said Hollande. He said the debate that is currently playing out is between either “the assertion or the end of Europe”, an end characterised by the return of national borders and the abandoning of Community policies.
Solidarity and responsibility. The Franco-German pair listed the crises - financial, economic, social and humanitarian - that are challenging the very idea of Europe. In order to respond to these crises, Hollande pointed out the solidarity and responsibility that form the basis of European action.
The chancellor said that in the face of the migration challenge that has seen the influx of “600,000 refugees” since the start of the year, Europe had been slow to understand the scale of the convulsions underway in the Middle East and Africa and their consequences, but had demonstrated “solidarity” with the refugees, with the frontline member states - Italy and Greece - and with countries bordering on Syria, a country devastated by a conflict that is the main reason for the displacement of people. It is not easy for anybody to leave home, not even economic migrants, said Merkel, stating that the influx of refugees was changing the European political agenda. She recommended greater protection of the EU's external borders to guarantee the Schengen free movement area for people, and aid for Turkey to integrate the refugees that have landed on its territory. She described as obsolete the current Dublin asylum and immigration rules.
The French president said that Europe had also acted with “solidarity” in the Greek crisis, and a Grexit would have been an “abdication of responsibility”. He said application of the third Greek bailout must translate into a discussion about debt servicing. Opting for marching on, he recommended a boosting of EMU to encourage economic convergence and tackle social and fiscal dumping. In this connection, he said institutional choices would have to be made, highlighting the greater role that the European Parliament would be called upon to take. Wanting to rectify the errors of EMU, Merkel said that France and Germany would make a common contribution in this domain.
Thanking Europeans for standing by France when it was hit by the terror attacks in Paris, Hollande called on the European Parliament to validate the PNR proposal on the transfer of airline passenger information in order to make it easier to track terrorists.
Europe is also capable of demonstrating responsibility and firmness, such as when it adopted sanctions against Russia in response to a brutal violation of international law in Ukraine, said Hollande. Negotiating directly with Russia and Ukraine (in the Normandy format), France and Germany had managed to get elections in eastern Ukraine postponed and the withdrawal, albeit partial, of weapons from the front line. This is what we are able to do in the name of Europe, said Hollande.
The French president said that Europe had also been firm in its decisions in response to the Syrian tragedy. He said Daesh and the jihadists resent what Europe represents, and what is happening in Syria will for a long time determine the balance in the entire region. If we let religious clashes grow any bigger, we must not think that we will be spared because that would mean total war, he said, calling for a European diplomatic offensive to facilitate a political future in Syria that provides a different alternative to Assad or Daesh.
A large majority of MEPs applauded the two leaders' speeches. Only eurosceptics and europhobes heckled the pair a few times, especially to defend sovereignty and nationalism.
On behalf of the EPP Group, Germany's Manfred Weber welcomed the renewal of this “profession of faith” in Europe. He asked the two leaders for the European Council to endorse the creation of a European border protection force. Stressing the crucial importance of Franco-German leadership to encourage integration in Europe, Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy) recommended tangible action to encourage solidarity on the ground. He said the Dublin asylum rules were out of date. If the Schengen area or the euro falls, what will Europe be left with?, asked Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, Belgium), warning that Europe would be puny on the world stage and the crisis had its roots in the lack of shared sovereignty. On behalf of the Greens/EFA, Germany's Rebecca Harms backed Europe's approach of talking with Turkey, as long as the Turkish president is asked to stop the escalation of attacks on the Kurds in Turkey. Gabriele Zimmer (GUE/NGL, Germany) criticised the economic policy of austerity that reigns in Europe, saying that slashing public spending or burning refugee centres in Germany was not demonstrating solidarity. She described the Franco-German engine as suffering from a bout of 'flu.
Ryszard Antoni Legutko (ECR, Poland) said Europe's problem was the Franco-German engine itself and twenty-eight is bigger than two. Nigel Farage (EFDD, United Kingdom) scoffed at a Europe of bitterness and a lack of harmony, telling the two leaders that they said it themselves, it doesn't work, so we need more Europe! Describing Hollande as the administrative vice-chancellor of the province of France, Marine Le Pen (ENF, France) tried to give herself the status of a head of state, criticising the French president's action as hitching his country up to Germany on the questions of migration and economics. She called for the assertion of nations in a multipolar world with smart border control and a total end to mass immigration.
Listening to you all, we should leave everything - leave Schengen, leave the euro and sometimes, I wonder, leave democracy too, said the French president. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)